Melton's name has been thrown around here a lot lately, so I took some time and watched him.Pros: great lateral quickness. Leverage player, can get under pads.Cons: Not great length. cannot absorb double teams often enough, probably because he is a bit undersized. In Chicago's scheme, he plays a position that doesn't have a Seattle counterpart.

In end zone views of Chicago's defense, Melton is the easiest guy to find. Low, squatty, and always lined up on the outside shoulder of a guard. Lined up between the tackle and guard, but shading the guard. This is where you find Melton 95% of the time. Also called the 5 technique. Chicago runs an unusual 4-3 look, rarely having anyone lined up over the center, but often having both Briggs and Urlacher shallow, just 3 yards from the center. Melton is quick enough to jump from 5 to the nose the snap and absorb a center/guard block if the play calls for it.

Melton is not a 3rd down pass rush specialist. His sack totals might make you think otherwise, but he is a platoon player. In for a couple of series, out for a series. This also doesn't help him fit for Seattle, as Pete likes to play situational football. He is versatile, having some success against the run. He isn't a chase runners down kind of guy, but does quickly shed guards and laterally intercept the running lane.

So, how has Melton acquired this reputation as a pass rusher, you might wonder? First, lining up at the 3 with Peppers lined up at the 7 or the 5 leads to a lot of one on ones. Put Melton on a plodder in space, and he can quick his way to the QB. Rarely did I see him simply push a guard back. Also, Chicago runs a ton of line stunts in pass situations. Peppers isn't so fast that he can take the Clemons/Irvin edge route to the QB, and he is strong enough not to need to anyway. Melton often speed rushes the outside shoulder of the guard, taking him wide of the pocket, leaving Peppers an inside move away from a straight line to the QB. This simple stunt is where much of Melton's pass rushing success has been, as the right side of many defenses have struggled to take away Peppers. Another stunt Chicago runs a lot is to have Melton jump from the 5 to the 3 tech at the snap, absorb the guard and center, and leave Peppers singled on the right tackle. Of course, Melton doesn't get any pressure on the pocket this way, but Peppers does.

Our defense is as different from Chicago's 4-3 as two 4-3 defenses can be. We expect the 5 to two gap. He does not have to penetrate and disrupt, just be able to hold his area, even if doubled. In fact, we prefer he be doubled, because now the linebackers are freed up. We usually have a player on the center's shoulder or nose. We do try to free up Clemons/Irvin to be single blocked, but any inside move they make is usually up to them, and not the result of a stunt. Of course, we run some of the same stunts, but not very often. I assume if we had a player like Peppers, we would do that much more. But we don't, we have speed rushers.

In summation, I will be surprised if Seattle pursues Melton. He isn't a long player suited to being an up the middle pass rush specialist or pocket collapser, and he isn't a fit for the mold we currently have for our defensive tackles in our kind of hybrid 4-3.

Last edited by Scottemojo on Sat Jan 26, 2013 6:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Bobblehead wrote:We don't really need a pass rush specialist.We need someone that will be similar to Justin Smith that would take pressure off of the ends and allow them to be more successful.

Actually, that is kind of contradictory, and incorrect.

We need inside pass rush to complement the outside rush we get from Clemons ( he gets healthy soon) and Irvin. That's a major reason we went after Jason Jones IIRC. Unfortunately, he was injured early in the season and that move didn't pan out as planned. He was on a one year deal, so it remains to be seen what they do with him, but IAE we need a DT that can penetrate and get after the QB from the inside. And probably more than that.

Given P&J's history so far, they will 'attack' the problem with several players, drafted and FA, and see who sticks in training camp. I expect a large contingent of DL in the offseason this year and a spirited competition for roster spots.

Talent can get you to the playoffs.It takes character to win when you get there.SUPER BOWL XLVIII CHAMPIONS

Good read, thanks for posting! I think Starks and Des Bryant would be ideal FA's to sign this offseason, but I have to wonder how long they will be on the market and what type of attention they will bring.

I've only watched a little bit of the Bears in all-22, so bear with me.

Melton usually lines up at the 3. He is a complete mismatch for opposing guards who are not athletic enough to stay in front of him. He's not a great run defender although he gets great leverage.The Bears run their version of the "NASCAR Package" on a majority of high percentage passing downs, this usually involves Julius Peppers moving to DT and bringing in Shea Mcclellin as a faster speed rusher. Melton has a lot of versatility here because he can beat guards 1 on 1 which seems to force teams to double him, freeing up 1 on 1s for the rushers on the outside and creating protection issues when the bears decide to blitz.

I like Melton as a player and I do think he could fit in our system. I'm just wondering who people want him to replace? You are not gonna pay a guy 7-10 million a year to be a rotation player and i'm not sure our defense is better off as a whole with Melton replacing Branch.

sutz wrote:Given P&J's history so far, they will 'attack' the problem with several players, drafted and FA, and see who sticks in training camp. I expect a large contingent of DL in the offseason this year and a spirited competition for roster spots.

Great point sutz, I almost lost sight of that for a second with all the hopes of getting THE guy...

You're probably right. Competition. Can't wait to see some of the DLine battles in Training Camp and preseason. Actually, come oto think of it, last preseason was probably the most fun preseason I've ever seen. I actually looked forward to all of the games and watched every minute of them, cheering all the way.

Scottemojo wrote:In end zone views of Chicago's defense, Melton is the easiest guy to find. Low, squatty, and always lined up on the outside shoulder of a guard. Lined up between the tackle and guard, but shading the guard. This is where you find Melton 95% of the time. Also called the 5 technique.

Typo? Lining up over the outsider shoulder of the guard is the 3-technique. Lining up just over the outside shoulder of the tackle is the 5-technique.

Anyway, I don't think Melton will be a FA anyway. Starks might be. Scott, do you have any insight into Starks' 2012 performance? I was shocked when I saw how poorly PFF graded him.

Knownone and Kip, both of you are right. He does line up at the three. I was being thrown by the lack of a nose player. Outside shoulder of the guard. I fixed my errors. I also wasnt counting the nose as the 0. Derp. I watched both Detroit games, the Seahawks game, both Green Bay games, both Vikings games. I like to start with division games.

I still don't think he fits the body type they want, and I think he gets pushed around by doubles.

I was going to watch Starks, Kip, I suspect that Starks was a bit undone by the 43/34 switch.